Salt-Smothered Chicken

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Title: Salt-Smothered Chicken
Categories: Chinese, Chicken, Ceideburg 2
Yield: 4 servings

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Bowl for marinade
6 qt To 8 quart enameled
-casserole with cover
Strainer
1 Sauce pan

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1 Whole fryer (3 1/2 lbs)
1 ts Minced ginger root
1 Scallion with 1 inch of
-green, cut in 1/4-inch
-rounds
1 ts Minced Chinese parsley
1 Piece dried tangerine peel
-(1 inch in diameter)
1 1/2 ts Salt
1/8 ts Ground Szechuan or black
-pepper
2 ts Chinese orange wine or
-Cointreau
1 c Warm water
2 ts Cornstarch
2 tb Cold chicken stock or cold
-water
5 lb Rock [or Kosher] salt
Chinese parsley for
-decorating

I'm posting a couple of recipes for "Salt Baked" chicken. They're
slightly different, but both good. The salt acts as the cooking
medium and adds little, if any saltiness to the dish.

Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours

BEFORE COOKING:

Wash bird and blot dry with paper towels. Hang for 1 to 2 hours in a
cool, dry place. Combine the ginger root, scallion, parsley, dried
tangerine peel, salt, pepper, orange wine and water in the bowl. Tie
or sew the bird's neck opening. Pour the marinade into the body
cavity.

Sew cavity shut to prevent marinade from leaking. Combine cornstarch
and stock or water. Have rock salt ready to go.

COOKING:

Put the rock salt in the casserole. Turn heat to high and stir salt
crystals until they become red-hot, about 30 minutes. Scoop out
enough salt to make a well in which you can place the chicken,
leaving a bed of salt about 2 inches thick. Place the filled bird
breast-side-down in the salt and pack it all around with the
scooped-out salt. Cover casserole and reduce heat to medium-low.
Cook for 45 to 60 minutes. Remover bird and cut away threads. Pour
marinade from the cavity into a strainer over the pint saucepan.
Chop chicken into Chinese-style serving pieces and arrange on a
platter. Heat the marinade over medium heat until boiling.

Give the cornstarch-stock mixture a quick stir to dissolve any lumps;
add to marinade. Stir for 1 to 2 minutes or until the mixture
becomes clear. Pour over bird. Decorate with sprigs of Chinese
parsley and serve. The chicken will be tender and moist without
being overly salty. It will have a subtle fragrance.

Servings: Enough for 4 as a single course or for 6 to 8 in a full
menu.

From "The Step-by-Step Chinese Cookbook" by Georges Spunt. Thomas Y.
Crowell Company, New York. 1973.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; August 15 1992.

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